Australia rolls out the red carpet for India, but uncomfortable questions remain
Perth is playing host to an Indian-led conference as Australia extends a helping hand for New Delhi to expand its regional influence.
The world’s largest population, a growing diaspora, a fast-growing economic power – and a potential strategic counterweight to China in the making. Australian leaders are understandably allured by India’s potential.
Perth plays host to the seventh Indian Ocean Conference (IOC) – and the first to be held in Australia – this weekend, an event for politicians and think tanks aimed at promoting stability in the region. This year’s iteration is headlined by Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Indian external affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
Gatherings like these are often dismissed as talk-fests, and rarely result in substantive policy change. But the decision to host at India’s request, and Wong jetting across the country between two busy sitting weeks, underlines Australia’s willingness to help New Delhi expand its soft power in the region.
Australia under successive prime ministers has deepened economic ties with “the world’s largest democracy”, where the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) grip on power shows few signs of loosening.
